Google is finally bringing a new look to smartwatches with Wear OS

Google is changing the way you interact with your Wear OS-based smartwatch.

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Saurabh Singh

New Delhi

August 29, 2018

UPDATED: August 30, 2018 14:26 IST

Wear OS

At I/O 2018, Google took the wraps off of Wear OS, the Mountain View company's fresh attempt to make smartwatches make sense again. It is supposedly the biggest overhaul to Android Wear since its inception although at I/O 2018, Google did not explicitly say much about it. Today, it is saying something substantial, and even though there aren't many good Wear OS-based smartwatches in the market right now, today's update brings hope. Google is finally bringing a new look to smartwatches through Wear OS.

Also, Google is changing the way you interact with your Wear OS-based smartwatch so much so that if you already own a Wear OS-based smartwatch, you'll need to get better acquainted with things starting from next month when the update starts rolling out. The all-new look and the new interactions that the upcoming update will bring along are all directed towards ease of use, and of course, making the Google Assistant all the more accessible.

"We're evolving the design of Wear OS by Google to help you get the most out of your time - providing quicker access to your information and notifications, more proactive help from the Google Assistant, and smarter health coaching - all with a swipe of your finger," Google said in a blog post.

There will broadly be four kinds of interactions in Wear OS, post the new update. While swiping up will take you to notifications, swiping down will take you to quick settings which will now also house, in addition to the usual, quick access to find your phone and Google Pay (which is also now available in India by the way). Swiping right will bring the Google Assistant feed, quite similar to Google Now, only more useful. Swiping left will meanwhile take you directly to Google Fit that will now also include the newly introduced rings for "move minutes" and "heart points." You can change watch faces by press and hold, much like it is in the case of the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

The new ways to interact with your smartwatch in Wear OS are simpler and also more fluid. But the most important change comes in the way your smartwatch will handle notifications. Now all your notifications will be grouped under one scrollable menu and it will also be possible to respond to certain apps directly from this menu. Previously notifications filled the entire screen and you had to swipe to view them one by one. The new interface is more user friendly.

Google is reportedly working on its own Pixel smarwatch this year and chances are the new update will be rolled out around the same time that it announces it sometime in October.

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